Storing inkjet printers,any suggestions?

  • Thread starter Thread starter william mcdonald
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william mcdonald

My house has sold and I am going to take off for a couple of
months,quit my job, I'm hitting the road.

I am placing my printers: Epson C82, Canon S9000 and S900,in a
non- climate controlled storage unit. I googled this subject and
there seems to be conflicting advice. Some say they ink will dry out
and clog the printheads,others say it won't.

I figured that I'd get an answer here on this forum.

If anybody has experience with this please respond.

Bill Mcdonald currently in Joshua Tree

p.s. I may buy a rv, in which case I'll take one with me.
 
william mcdonald said:
My house has sold and I am going to take off for a couple of
months,quit my job, I'm hitting the road.

I am placing my printers: Epson C82, Canon S9000 and S900,in a
non- climate controlled storage unit. I googled this subject and
there seems to be conflicting advice. Some say they ink will dry out
and clog the printheads,others say it won't.

How non-climate controlled will it be? Below freezing? Above 35C? I would
probably wrap it in a garbage bag, thrown in a small damp sponge and seal it
up, then wrap in blankets or similar to moderate temperature cycles. You may
have some issues after a few months of storage, look up Arthur Entlich and
email him a request for his unclogging guide. Print this and store it with the
printer so you will have it when you need it later.

Regards,
Bob Headrick
 
I'd surely second the idea of the damp sponge! Isn't Joshua Tree in the
middle of the Southern California desert?
Lola MacLean
 
Hi Bob,

Thanks for the "plug".

I basically agree with the concept of using a plastic barrier and a
small damp sponge (outside of the printer(s) itself) to maintain some
humidity.

But if someone is placing their printers in long term storage, I would
actually suggest they flush the systems out completely.

In that situation, I would suggest for the Canons, if the heads are
removable to remove the cartridges and seal them well. Then, remove the
head and rinse it first in some ammoniated window cleaner, then some
water, and finally some alcohol (isopropyl) as a drying agent. Allow
the head to dry fully, and then package it away as well.

For the Epson, I would try to acquire some virgin cartridges and fill
them with cleaning liquid (or buy some pre-made which do not contain any
dye) and flush the heads until all the ink is removed. I would also do
an underhead cleaning at that time. The idea is to basically make the
heads completely devoid of ink.

Purging the heads with cleaning fluid should also clean the cleaning
station of ink. Before shutting down the printer, remove all the
cartridges then bring the heads all the way to the right of the printer
so they are sealed by the cleaning station. The heads will still dry
out because the ink nipple is exposed at this point, but, the heads will
be physically protected from dust and damage. Place a plastic bag over
the top of the movable carriage/head unit to keep dust out of the ink
nipples. You may wish to tape the carriage so it doesn't shift while
being moved., Do not place any tape near the heads themselves.

All these suggestions are without warranty of any type, and you take
personal responsibility for any problems that may result from following
my guidelines.

Art
 
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